Month: May 2023

How long will the Writers Guild of America strike last? According to insiders, it could be a long, long time. Already dozens of high-profile shows and movies have gone dark, including Stranger Things and Marvel’s long-in-the-works reboot of Blade. But so far that hasn’t convinced the Hollywood studios and streamers that comprise the Alliance of Motion Picture Television Producers of kowtowing to the WGA’s demands. Now another big show is going on hiatus, though the strike may only be one of the reasons why.

As per Deadline, Severance — Apple TV+’s sci-fi whatzit, whose first season captivated viewers last year — is temporarily throwing in the towel due to the strike. On its eighth day, WGA members had been picketing their studio in central Brooklyn, and did so so well that that members of IATSE and the Teamsters up and refused to cross picket lines.

But other factors may have contributed to its shuttering. The AV Club points to a Puck report from last month that all was not going so well with the show’s second season. That report claimed that the show had been “plagued for months by pricey problems, including scrapped scripts and the dreaded showrunners who don’t speak to each other.” Sources close to the production denied those rumors — to The AV Club, as it were — saying that show-runners Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman were collaborating just fine.

After the report surfaced, Ben Stiller, who helmed seven of the first season’s nine episodes, took to Twitter to deny any mishegoss. “No one’s going to the break room,” he wrote. “We’re on the same really slow schedule we’ve always been on. Same target air date we’ve always had. Love our fans and each other and we all are just working to make the show as good as possible.”

Whatever the case, it may be a good while until Hollywood brass lets them return to the inhumane world of Lumon Industries. On the other hand, that could also mean striking writers could get more pizza from Pete Davidson.

(Via Deadline, The AV Club, and Puck)

You know the old myth that if you say a certain name three times, then said person will show up and week havoc? People tend to think it’s about Beetlejuice when in reality it’s about Justin Theroux, who will appear whenever somebody summons him. He’s got nothing else to do.

In this case, Theroux has been summoned to the set of Beetlejuice 2, the upcoming sequel to the cult classic comedy-horror movie that made you afraid of Michael Keaton as a child (meanwhile Morbius made you afraid of him as an adult).

Not only will Keaton be returning as the titular beetle, but Wednesday star Jenna Ortega will also star in the flick as Lydia Deetz’s daughter, while Theroux will star as a currently unannounced character. Winona Ryder is also expected to reprise her role as Deetz.

Tim Burton is reportedly set to direct the film, which will take place years after the events of the first movie, where a seemingly innocent family was haunted by numerous demonic beings just because they wanted to live in a nice home. That’s unfortunately what you are risking when you move to the state of Connecticut.

The Beetlejuice sequel is set to begin filming this summer, with an expected release date of September 6th, 2024. Fans of dates might notice that it’s right after Labor Day, so it looks like a certain green-haired freak might need a new costume.

Via Variety

The Miami Heat are up 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, bearing in on a second straight appearance in the penultimate postseason series. There has not been a more demoralizing, one-sided set of games in the second round of the playoffs this year than what the Knicks have experienced.

In the past two games, the Heat have taken everything that the Knicks thrived on this season and done it better, nullifying their strengths, and adding in wrinkles the Knicks feel incapable of ironing out.

First and foremost, the Heat dominated the Knicks on the glass in Games 3 and 4. The box score only shows a minor discrepancy, but when factoring in offensive efficiency and total rebounds available, the pressure Miami has put on with second chances is astounding considering how much smaller the Heat frontcourt is. Per Cleaning the Glass, Miami has corralled 37 percent of their own misses while playing at home (The Knicks have grabbed 26.8 percent of their offensive rebounding opportunities compared to 34.9 percent last series against the Cavs).

Miami’s wings have been adept crashing the glass, with Caleb Martin and Jimmy Butler leading the charge. Effort is a cliche term, but the attention to detail from the Heat’s off-ball players has been noticeably better than New York’s. When the ball goes up, the Knicks operate like they’re taking a breather or are in between possessions. Miami, on the other hand, is treating the ball going up as just a continuation of the possession, or even as a boost to spark their offense.

So many of Miami’s offensive boards have been the agonizing variety where there’s three players in the vicinity, all waiting for the ball to fall, and a Heat player comes flying from across the court to corral it.

The Knicks have felt as though they’re on their back foot the entire time, trying to ward off every jab and hook from Miami. The Heat have ramped up the pace sensationally. That sounds ridiculous looking at the actual pace metrics — per Basketball-Reference, both teams are playing at a 92.8 possessions per 48 pace, well below where both teams played in the regular season (both teams were bottom 5 in pace).

But Miami has picked its spots well, taking particular advantage of kick-aheads off of live rebounds, something that’s been a staple of Kevin Love’s arsenal for years which the Heat have weaponized in this series in particular.

Yet, it’s the pace in the halfcourt that stands out. This team does not stand still. There’s constant motion, consistent cutting, and Miami has run every player in New York’s rotation through a gauntlet of screens. Even if they’re using much of the shot clock, or going through multiple possessions in a set, Miami is so busy in the halfcourt and always finding small ways to push the ball down quickly that the Knicks are often playing catch up once a possession starts.

Already off kilter, the Heat have put even more strain on New York’s frontcourt through their blend of movement shooting and screening. So often when talking about the Heat, everything comes back to Bam Adebayo’s screening, and rightfully so. He’s one of the best! But, especially in Game 4, it was the screening from off-ball players that opened up cleanest looks Bam has had all postseason en route to a playoff high 23 points.

While Bam misses the jumper in this clip, there’s so much you can parse through in the process of this play.

Note how far out Mitchell Robinson is playing on Bam, a necessity given how dynamic he and Miami’s shooters have been in tandem with him as a hand-off and screening hub. Miami is shooting the lights out in the playoffs after a lethargic regular season, with every player in the top eight of the rotation shooting 36 percent or better from beyond the arc. That’s meant there hasn’t been a cold stretch that’s allowed the Knicks to really gamble with playing potential shooting luck.

Bam screens for Max Strus, who wheels right back to screen for him. Jalen Brunson shows before recovering back out to Strus, and Robinson dips under the screen, taking a long path back after the awkward screening angle. Even without the ball being in play, there’s an advantage/gap created in the defense borne out of Strus’ shooting gravity.

To Adebayo’s credit as well, he’s taken it to Robinson with his superior mobility. He’s continually shifting around and has enough touch to make Robinson tentative, and on top of all of the off-ball actions that have already got the 7-footer cautious, Bam has been adept at getting underneath Robinson’s center of gravity to finish, draw fouls, and boxout.

Last night was the first “star” box score of the series for Bam, but make no mistake, he’s been a star and the second best player in the series by a longshot through owning the little things.

Defensively, the Knicks have been stretched to the max, highlighting the lack of versatility on the roster. Brunson, as fantastic as he’s been offensively, has struggled to contain drives. With how well the Heat have used off-ball actions to offset some of New York’s stellar rim protection from Robinson, they’ve been carved up out of ball screens, and even blown by in isolation. Miami has shot too well to routinely use ICE coverage and be effective. That led to the Knicks trying to employ a hard hedge and recover scheme with Julius Randle at the four, in an attempt to halt interior drives.

This play is so indicative of how that went even with the shot not falling. Randle had real moments of freneticism and movement, and then large swaths of possessions where he jogs back after the shot. I don’t know if the ankle is bothering him. I don’t know if he’s just tired. I do know that it didn’t work because Miami moved the ball so quickly and moves their bodies quickly as well.

Everything Miami’s done has been faster, with more intention, and with the efficiency to make it matter and force defensive shift.

Obi Toppin has struggled to find an impact on the court, as he’s been too slow defensively and hasn’t found an effective role within the offense. Randle hasn’t shot well and his decision-making has been rough repeatedly, but the Heat have packed the paint incredibly well. They’ve pin-pointed and found the shooters they’re most comfortable sagging off of on the Knicks’ roster and it’s been abundantly clear.

Josh Hart is a fantastic cutter and driver, but the Heat have abandoned guarding him, mucking up the lane by cheating off of him.

While New York has shooters, they don’t have movement shooting in the same way Miami does. Quentin Grimes is the only player in the main rotation who is taking shots off screens at a high level, and he’s been muted this series. Immanuel Quickley is a phenomenal off the dribble shooter, but isn’t quite the same type of player who can fly off a pin-down and set his feet quickly (yet), and even then, he’s out with injury and has struggled in the playoffs.

The Knicks and Tom Thibodeau have made adjustments, they’ve tried different schemes and coverages, but at the end of the day, Miami has exploited some of the biggest holes in their roster. With the Heat owning the series by taking over the offensive glass, neutralizing size in the frontcourt, and essentially playing New York’s style better, the season looks just about over for the Knicks with many things that need to be addressed in the coming offseason.

Donald Trump has been found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. The former president had been accused of sexually assaulting Carroll, and it did not take long for a jury to deliberate after Trump delivered a jarring deposition where he doubled down on his infamous Access Hollywood remarks about grabbing women “by the p*ssy.” Trump also repeatedly attacked the judge and Carroll on social media, which clearly did not help his case.

According to The New York Times, a jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll, but did not rape her because the assault allegedly did not involve intercourse. The jury also found that Trump defamed her by calling her accusations false. Predictably the former president has already lashed out on Truth Social.

“I have absolutely no idea who this woman is,” Trump wrote. “This verdict is a disgrace — a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!”

Trump’s campaign was also quick to put out a statement.

“In jurisdictions wholly controlled by the Democratic Party our nation’s justice system is now compromised by extremist left-wing politics. We have allowed false and totally made-up claims from troubled individuals to interfere with our elections, doing great damage.”

The campaign added: “This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win.”

Speaking of Trump’s campaign, his 2024 presidential aspirations are now further staining the Republican Party. As Twitter users reacted to the verdict, there was widespread disgust at the fact that Trump still remains the frontrunner to secure the GOP nomination. Granted, it’s too early to tell whether the verdict will boost potential challenger Ron DeSantis, but at the moment, Trump is still the head of the party.

You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via The New York Times)

When Aminé announced his joint project with Kaytranada last month, it sounded like a match made in heaven. The two genre-forward artists named their upcoming album Kaytraminé in honor of the combination of their respective styles. After releasing the Pharrell-featuring single “4Eva” and sharing the summery tracklist, they’ve got fans clamoring for an official release. Fortunately, those fans won’t have long to wait; Kaytraminé has a release date of May 19, just ten days away — and more than enough time for them to drop at least one more teaser.

Kaytraminé will be Aminé’s first album since 2020’s Limbo, his second studio album, and his first full-length project since his 2021 mixtape TwoPointFive, which was meant to split the wait until his next album. Meanwhile, Kaytranada previously proved his ability to produce a full project alongside another multifaceted rap talent with last year’s Simple, a joint project with DMV rapper IDK.

Kaytranada also raised his profile this spring with his appearances at Coachella during which he played eclectic sets of his iconic collaborations. While weekend one saw him bring out Aminé and Kali Uchis, for weekend two, he introduced the crowd to his work with Anderson Paak, HER, and Tinashe.

Kaytraminé is out 5/19 via Club Banana / Kaytranada Music & Publishing and Venice Music distribution.

Manifest isn’t a show that has to make sense, and that’s a good thing because when a character touches an airplane part and instantaneously ages several years, logic isn’t part of the equation. Still, there’s a method to creator Jeff Rake’s madness, and he’s got two fewer seasons than he’d hoped to bring Flight 828 in for a final landing. This development followed an NBC cancellation before Netflix picked up the streaming ball and ran with it.

That led to Netflix renewing the semi-sci-fi series for a (final) fourth, supersized season, and Part 1 ended with Zeke’s death, so expect Michaela Stone to be reeling with the story picks up. At the same time, the series will continue parcelling out information about callings and shadowy government forces, all while the show’s Death Date (in the story, at least) remains June 2, 2024. Part 2 will arrive a year before that date, on June 2, 2023, and to get the audience primed, Rake told Entertainment Weekly that the series finale is complete, and it is an ambitious doozy:

“That finale that’s coming up, [episode] 420, that’s hands down the most ambitious episode we have ever shot,” Rake tells EW in April with the entire finale already shot and edited. “I don’t want to oversell, but I think you’ll agree when you see it that that even surpasses what you saw in 410 — and you’ll probably say ‘by a long shot.’”

EW also reminds viewers of how Rake previously confirmed that Zeke is definitely dead despite previously surviving his own death-date odds, but Rake did not close the door on some sort of face time from actor Matt Long. In dropping this hint, Rake seems to suggest flashbacks or maybe something ghostly, but actress Melissa Roxburgh recently told EW that Michaela “kind of shuts down,” and “[s]he’s fried” while also distracting herself with solving the whole mystery of Flight 828.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

A basic rule throughout nature is that larger animals tend to live longer than smaller ones. Elephants saunter into their sixties and whales can cruise the ocean for centuries, whereas mice live about a year or two and the common house fly won’t make it past a month.

The major reasons for the discrepancy are slower metabolisms and reduced risks from predators. However, there is a disconnect when it comes to man’s best friend. On average, smaller dogs tend to outlive larger ones.

For instance, petite Chihuahuas can live up to 15 years, outliving their significantly larger counterparts, Great Danes, by a solid 8 years. What’s to account for the huge difference in lifespan?

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Dogs diverge from the rest of the animal kingdom regarding longevity primarily because of how they mature as puppies.

According to Discover Magazine, larger breeds suffer from more physical ailments when they age because they expend more of their early resources for growth instead of maintaining their bodies. This can lead to more damage on the cellular level that doesn’t manifest until the dog has reached adulthood. This lowers a larger dog’s defenses against cancer while also raising the possibility of DNA replication damage that can lead to cancer at a later age.

To put it simply: Larger dogs grow up fast, which leads to a faster decline.

“There’s a body of robust theory in evolutionary biology—what we call ‘life history theory’ – about the way animals allocate their resources to different functions,” evolutionary biologist Professor Mark Elgar of the University of Melbourne’s School of Biosciences told Phys.org. “The bottom line is, there is no free lunch.”

“We conclude that large dogs die young mainly because they age quickly,” Elgar says.

It appears that all that wear and tear on a large breed dog’s body as they rapidly grow can harm its health in the long run. A group of undergraduate students from Colgate University in New York found that as puppies, large breed dogs have significantly more free radicals in their cells, which can lead to damage that has long-lasting effects.

Free radicals steal parts from other molecules, which causes damage and can lead to aging and disease.

Being a dog lover is bittersweet because you know that you and your furry friend will have to say goodbye one day. I guess that’s what makes the time together so special. Your time together is finite, so it’s best to enjoy it together while you can.

The good news is that, as pet owners, if we take good care of our dogs, they can have the best chance of living a long and happy life. The American Kennel Club offers this list of tips to promote your dog’s longevity and quality of life:

• Feeding a healthy diet
• Helping maintain a healthy weight
• Encouraging breed- and age-appropriate physical and mental exercise
• Taking our dogs for annual veterinary checkups and vaccinations
• Providing preventive dental care
• Administering heartworm, flea and tick preventatives
• Keeping them safe from accidents
• Giving love and affection

For years, Inside the NBA has been the gold standard of sports studio shows. It is the show that every network aspires to create, but few (if any) have come close to replicating for a variety of reasons.

The biggest one is on-air talent, as Ernie Johnson is irreplaceable as host, Charles Barkley is truly one of a kind, and Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal round out the desk as perfect complements and foils. However, the advantages the show has go beyond the chemistry and talent of the on-air crew, largely due to the folks behind the scenes who create the space needed to make great television.

That space is, as Jeremy Levin (VP, coordinating producer) explains, something they’ve worked hard to create and is the product of endless behind the scenes work with various partners, departments, and higher-ups. It is most notable with Inside the NBA, as TNT’s postgame show has as much freedom as any studio show on television. On a big night with plenty to talk about and a conversation that’s flowing, there’s not a lot of stress if they run over their time allotment and bump into whatever movie is scheduled for the early hours of the morning.

It’s why the crew can steer into the tangents, rants, and back-and-forth arguments in a way few other shows can, knowing there’s a cushion there to go long. If it’s a light night and they end a little early, it’s just as easy to bump something up. It is a luxury most networks don’t have and is part of the magic of being the only live programming that TNT needs to worry about, something Ernie Johnson doesn’t take for granted.

“If the show runs an hour, or if it runs 50 minutes or if it runs an hour and 10, I think our producers are aware that — man, if we’ve got a good thing going, we’re not going to cut it off,” Johnson says. “If we’re really diving into something or if guys are breaking down plays of a game that has come down to two or three crucial plays, and then we get reaction from a coach or a player and we want to talk about that, we don’t feel like ‘Hey, hurry up, we gotta get this done.’ So having that latitude is huge. And it does allow you to just, you know, to not rush through thoughts or feel like you have to beat the clock.”

While postgame freedom is a product of their environment, they’ve worked hardest to carve out the necessary space to create similar flowing conversations at halftime. Given there’s a hard in and hard out from when the second quarter ends and the third quarter begins, it requires some creativity to foster the same kind of vibe with a clock actually ticking. What they realized was, in order to make the halftime show worthwhile, they needed to focus on one longer segment where they have the freedom to go long and actually get a chance to talk about the game, rather than trying to hit their marks on a number of shorter segments.

“We recognize here, it’s important to have that space to be able to talk. If you’re gonna have four people on the desk, there’s no sense in doing a halftime show where each guy has 15 seconds,” Levin says. “So, what we’ve done is it used to be like three segments, so we shaved it down to two segments and we combined some commercials together so that gives you, instead of trying to fill three blocks of time, you’re only trying to fill two, so you can lengthen the two a little bit.”

That required working with sales to make the commercial breaks before and after the segment a bit longer and shift commercial inventory around to other areas of the night. This allowed them to get through their standard script — Shaq’s pictures, Kenny’s big board segment, and Chuck’s first half thoughts — while also allowing for the banter and conversation that makes the show beloved, and keeps things fresh by going in different orders and, depending on who has the most to say, gives different people more time on any given night.

As Levin explains, the second segment of halftime is the “accordion” segment, which can be trimmed to as short as 15 seconds or lengthened to 90 seconds, depending on whether Chuck and the guys blow through the initial timetable with a conversation that goes long.

“Shaq or Kenny might say something in one of their videos, and Chuck might have already said his point, but it’ll never be like, ‘Hey, Chuck, you can’t say anything,’” Levin says. “Like, if Chuck’s got a point he wants to make behind that coming off their video, we tried to allow that space for that to occur. And sometimes, that’ll lead to a discussion back and forth. … We’ll leave space for that and then we’ll just shorten the second segment.”

Everything is done with the end goal of allowing the guys to be authentic, which is made easier by having Barkley as the face of the show. As Johnson notes, they never have to say, “‘Hey Chuck, make sure you’re authentic tonight,’ that’s just in his DNA.” That sometimes means he drags the show out into deep waters, as Chuck might make a Clarence Thomas joke or wish he was watching something else during a boring game, but it’s what makes him the show’s north star when it comes to maintaining a natural feel.

“A lot of that comes from from Charles. Another kind of key word or mantra we have around here’s ‘authentic.’ You know, keeping your authentic voice and staying true to yourself, and Charles resonates that more than anybody,” Levin says. “If the game is boring or sh*tty, he’ll be the first one to say it. I think it was the other night he was like, ‘Hey, I’m watching the two hockey games.’ So you know, he’s the shining light of that. And that allows us all to kind of remain a little truer, a little more authentic to ourselves and what we actually feel.”

For a show that has found its success by allowing everyone to be themselves, the only way to have that happen is to carve out enough time for them to be comfortable and not be focused on spitting out their takes or analysis in a regimented time-frame. They have, previously, had timed sponsored segments that didn’t always work as intended, yielding Shaq’s all-time “one, two, back to one” rant.

A moment like that is part of what separates Inside, but it also shows how they’ve seamlessly integrated so many different facets of production to augment what the guys on the set are doing. Alex Houvouras (Art Director, Associate Producer) has been in charge of graphics and art for the show for years, creating memes before memes were a thing. He’s the one doodling on the Alex Len photo in the clip above, giving the show some of its unique color that affords the guys on set something else to react to. For Houvouras, his job is all about active listening, and then trying to turn ideas into reality as quickly as he can so it’s still fresh.

“I’m just listening to the mics,” Houvouras says. “Really, all of us behind the scenes are kind of in service to the guys, and we’re all just trying to keep that conversation flowing and keep the jokes running as they’re talking. So we’re all trying to service the conversation that they’re having. So, if I hear something that I think is funny, or I think is good visual, I’m just hopping on and trying to get it out there in the next couple of minutes so it’s timely.”

Working in tandem with Houvouras is Andrew Prezioso (Production Assistant), aka Prez, who does the digging to find the tweets that make it to air. Part of why Inside resonates the way it does is the feeling of involvement fans have, because if they tweet something in reaction to the show, Prez might just go find it and throw it up on the screen — whether their account is tagged or not — for the guys to see. For Levin, the social element has become incredibly important to what they do, which is why Prezioso and the social team are part of every production meeting to make sure the TV and social sides are in lock step.

Adding social elements to a TV show can be tricky, but what makes it work for Inside is how natural it is, sticking with their mantra of being authentic. It’s why Prezioso seeks out those tweets rather than asking for engagement with polls or questions.

“It’s not something that people have to go and tag us, or we have to go and ask for,” Prezioso says. “It’s just kind of giving the voice of the fans and putting that into the show and allowing them to interact with guys like Chuck and Shaq and Kenny and EJ. Just seeing the fans reactions to all that, I think it’s something that’s really unique to what we do.”

As everyone I talked to notes, the reason it all works is that the guys on set are willing to respond and have fun with it, particularly at their own expense. A tweet that prods Chuck or Shaq is going to get laughs from the rest of the crew, while they’re likely to return fire. If it’s Kenny, he might stew over it, which only makes it funnier and ensures they go back to the well over and over.

“If the guys up on set had bigger egos, softer personalities, whatever and they weren’t willing to take the jokes, this wouldn’t work,” Prezioso says. “But we’re allowed to continue to make those jokes. Like, I know Kenny keeps on saying he doesn’t like being a dog, but then it keeps on helping us replenish dog GIFs, and it just kind of makes everything more fun.”

Houvouras and Prezioso know they’ve done their job when they throw up an image or a tweet and get the guys rolling on set, with breaking Johnson as the ultimate goal. For Johnson and the guys on the set, adding all of those different elements has only served to keep the show fresh after all these years, as they’ve managed to adapt and stay relevant while also still just being themselves. Johnson can remember when the social stuff was thought of as a gimmick, working a PGA Championship broadcast that didn’t want to put up tweets from golfers, but now is integral to how Inside operates and allows them to interact with fans.

Having a crew that’s been together for so long — in front of and behind the camera — is another benefit they have that isn’t always afforded to shows. They’ve had the same group on air for more than a decade, with Shaq as the most “recent” addition in 2011. Levin and Johnson have worked together for more than 10 years, dating back to Fan Night on NBA TV, where they got to learn each other’s rhythms before Levin took over on Inside. The continuity allows for an open flow of ideas behind the camera and non-verbal communication on it, as Ernie can see a little twinkle in Shaq or Chuck’s eyes and know exactly how to set them up for a great moment.

“I’m the rogue traffic cop, the guy who does want some collisions at his intersection,” Johnson says with a laugh. “I think after working with these guys for so long, I know that in my prep if I bring up this point, Charles is going to jump on it. And I also know that Shaq is probably going to broadside Charles when he says something. It’s that familiarity with each other and knowing how we all think, that’s what makes it work. And that’s what makes it possible to do that show without rehearsing at all. We never do that. We never sit down and run through a segment. It’s just whatever you see right there is genuine gut level reaction. And I think that’s been the key to the show for years.”

Every show wants a feel of authenticity and to make viewers believe everyone on set is having as much fun as they would getting paid to talk about basketball. Inside is one of the very few sports shows that achieves that, and does so by going against the natural instincts of making a TV show.

“When you’re producing a show, you want to hold on and you want to have control and know ,like, this is how it’s gonna go and this is how it’s gonna time out,” Levin says. “That makes it a lot more comfortable for you as a producer, but being able to take your hands off the wheel and just going like, hey, we’re gonna ride this thing out and see which way it goes. If the car veers left, we’ll go left, and right, we’re gonna go right. It’s a really hard thing to do as a producer and it takes some time and reps to get comfortable with that. And being willing to take the risk that, when you let your hands off the wheel, sometimes you’re gonna go into the ditch. That does happen from time to time, but we have the creative freedom from everybody above me to be able to make mistakes and to be able to kind of let it go off the rails from time to time.”

It’s not something many networks are willing to do, but TNT has and the Inside guys have rewarded them for it by consistently producing the most entertaining sports studio show out there. They’ve continued to adopt new ways to keep the show fresh — even when they’re on six nights a week in the playoffs — while still leaning on the formula that works.

The results speak for themselves. It might not always go according to plan, but it’s rarely not enjoyable to watch.

“I mean,” Johnson says with a laugh, “Every one of our shows is somewhere between a walk on the beach and a train wreck.”

To some, it appears that Taylor Swift has a new book on the horizon. There’s a mystery book that some believe to be an unannounced Swift memoir, but Variety says they “can report for certain” that Swift is not behind the book.

Based just on speculation, the book became a best-seller via some retailers. Perhaps understandably, Swifties whipped themselves into a franzy analyzing supposed “clues” and concluding (incorrectly) that Swift does indeed have a book out soon. As Variety notes, a document supposed from publisher Flatiron says the book is set for release on June 13, with 13 of course being a number long associated with Swift. Furthermore, the book has 544 pages; Add 5, 4, and 4 together and you get 13.

Currently, the book is known as just 4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023 and is credited to “Flatiron Author to Be Revealed July 2023.” It also bears the classification “Bios & Memoirs.”

Of the book, an unconfirmed pitch says a million copies will be printed, and it notes, “This is not a political book, it is a fun, celebratory title and will skew slightly younger, but is for people of all ages. This has global appeal and will have massive publicity. I would comp this to Flatiron’s Matthew Perry memoir… and a little bit to ‘Spare’ by Prince Harry.”

So, while it remains unclear who wrote this book, it seems very much like it’s not Swift.

It seems that Americans are finally joining the rest of the world in their obsession with Formula 1. You’ve got Netflix releasing the iconic series Drive to Survive, will.i.am and Lil Wayne dropping a single literally title “The Formula,” and a pretty wild collection of parties in Miami last weekend to celebrate the high-tech supercars of Europe getting exported across the Atlantic for an adrenaline-packed race dubbed The Miami Grand Prix.

As with all things F1 and Miami, the electrifying race set the stage for even more excitement — including will.i.am’s new FYI app launch and “Miami Race Nights” at Fontainebleau Miami Beach. On Saturday, May 6, DJ Vice and hitmaker Martin Garrix took the stage, igniting the crowd with an explosive medley of high-energy electronic dance jams that reverberated through the air, matching the adrenaline-fueled decibel levels of an F1 pit lane (with a lot more intoxicants).

Fontainebleau Miami Beach and BleauLive didn’t stop the party after the first evening of Miami Race Nights. On Sunday, May 7, the excitement continued with unforgettable post-F1 performances. Alec Monopoly and Kaskade rocked the stage, delivering a performance that shook the ground beneath the cheering crowd. Finally, three-time GRAMMY winner Ludacris brought down the house with a surprise set. With a resume of chart-topping hits like “Stand Up,” “Area Codes,” and his GOLD-certified anthem from 2 Fast 2 Furious, “Act a Fool,” Ludacris proved once again why he is a force to be reckoned with.

Check out the photos from both nights down below.